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Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Craig Stevens & David Doyle in Mr. Broadway (1964)

This ultra sophisticated series about a New York publicist has an excellent pedigree - it was written by Garson Kanin (of Born Yesterday fame) co-produced by David Susskind and features music by Dave Brubeck. Each week Mike Bell (Stevens) has another task that involves his high profile clients and the people that surround them. He's assisted in his labors by his able girl friday Toki (Lani Miyazaki). In this clip from the pilot episode, he is asked to look after a friend's 19 year old daughter Emily (Tuesday Weld) who is visiting New York. She turns out to be quite a handful and he must protect her from herself. This series attracted an impressive list of guest stars in its 13 episode run, including Oleg Cassini, Jill St. John, Barbara Feldon, Larry Hagman, Nina Foch, Tina Louise and Liza Minnelli in her first television appearance. Look for a young David Doyle in the clip below as a lackey delivering a message.

This show has never been released on DVD and can be hard to find in its entirety. Above is a clip of the pilot episode, uploaded by Hardtofindvideos2.

9 comments:

I've never heard of this show but now I want to see every episode (and smoke refreshing Bel-Air cigarettes). Given the pedigree of people behind the scenes and ongoing Mad Men affection, I'd have thought this would have been rushed out on DVD / Blu-Ray a while back.

I once saw a photo from this show in an early-1970s mass market paperback called "The Television Years." It showed Craig Stevens and Barbara Feldon in profile, intimately toasting with champagne. Other than that, as you said, it is very under the radar. Definitely a 10 on the obscurity factor scale.

Yes, it had photos of shows like the original version of "Eloise" from the 1950s, and Martha Raye with Margaret Truman on Martha's show. I could go on and on. I bought it (or rather, my mother bought it for me) at one of our local grocery stores that sold paperback books. I still have it!

One of the goons with Tuesday Weld is George S irving ( Tony winner for "Irene") . Though I never saw it, I vaguely remember this show , because it was on past my bed time. It seems more like a soft version of Sweet Smell of Success. I wish there was a box set of it - just for the atmosphere and the celebrities.

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About Me

Every year there are tens of thousands of productions completed and released commercially. This has been going on for over 100 years. Each year there are a handful of them that become touchstones, remembered classics lovingly handed down from generation to generation. These aren't those productions. Featured here on this blog are the forgotten step children of the entertainment industry, films and television shows that started out with the best of intentions, and though no fault of their own (well... sometimes) they've been forgotten and left to languish on the dusty shelves of history. I hope you enjoy the films and television I dig up!
When I'm not digging through the dustbin of lost content I'm one of America's most unique lifestyle gurus - Brini Maxwell.